Category: Blog

The North Pole is real, and Santa Claus lives there. He’s a medical marijuana patient and he wants his access, goddammit. However, the spirit of Christmas lives year round in the North Pole, and there’s some debate amongst citizens about whether a marijuana dispensary has a place in such an atmosphere. Can marijuana and Christmas coexist? These are the questions of our lives.

On Monday, the North Pole City Council got together to make a decision. And they decided that marijuana and Christmas CAN coexist. They will NOT ban dispensaries from opening up shop in their town. Here’s their thinking – if citizens of the North Pole don’t want to shop at dispensaries, they won’t. Basically, give the people what they want, and if they don’t want it, they won’t use it. Is that common sense? Who would have thunk it?

People are calling yesterday, June 3 “Cannabis Wednesday,” the most significant day yet for marijuana in Congress. They passed three pro-marijuana amendments, and nearly approved a fourth – by a pretty decent margin.

The first bipartisan amendment, authored by Representatives Tom McClintock (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Don Young (R-AK), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), prohibits the DEA from interfering with state medical marijuana laws and passed by a vote of 242-186.

A similar second amendment applies to state industrial hemp laws and passed by an ever wider margin with a vote of 282-146.

Finally, the third bipartisan amendment proposed by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) protects state laws that allow CBD oils, and it passed 297-130.

The amendment that didn’t pass, though, was a pretty important one. It would prevent the DEA and Department of Justice from spying on American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs, which we all know they’ve been doing for quite some time once Reuters blew their cover back in 2013. Suck it, DEA and DOJ and all those other annoying acronyms that just want to take away our rights by collecting all our information. Anyway, the damn thing got a vote of 206-222. So close, but not close enough.

The best news to come out this is a strong prediction by Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon that we’ll be done with all this nonsense in the next five years. Cheers to that!

If you’ve ever wondered how long water pipes have been around, wonder no more. The oldest have just been discovered in Russia, and they date back to somewhere between roughly 800 BC and 300 AD. These are no lame-ass water pipes either. They’re made of pure gold and were found buried carefully in a stone-lined chamber with seven pounds of gold jewelry, all covered in a thick layer of clay.

Found inside the pipes was a thick black residue which turned out to be a wombo combo of cannabis and opium. Historians believe these findings belonged to Scythian royalty, who are known to have used both drugs to alter their states of mind before battle. An interesting concept…the Scythians certainly weren’t using these pipes for peaceful reasons.

Another interesting tidbit about the pieces – their engravings reflect scenes of the time, including, according to Dangerous Minds, “a bearded man killing young warrior – or perhaps a jealous husband slaying a rival lover or son” and “mythological creatures…griffons ripping apart a horse and a stag.”

The pieces will soon be on display at a Russian museum. Cheers to you, Scythian empires! Except for all that violence. That was a little much.

Cannabis grows exceptionally well in Kazakhstan. We’re pretty pissed at Borat for not sharing that important piece of information. Instead, we found out through Dangerous Minds. Although it grows well there, apparently state officials aren’t too savvy about it . . . somehow, the Kazakhstan capital Astana City has been overgrown with the plant.

According to Dangerous Minds, Kazakhstan officials have had to work tirelessly over the years to “weed out” (ha…ha…) the large amounts of cannabis that grow wild all over the country. You’d think with all that tireless work, they would know when thousands of pot plants started creeping up in the middle of the city’s main drag, Auezov Street. Nope. All of a sudden, there are thousands of cannabis plants growing all along the city’s highway, and officials are like, “WTF is this?!”

If Borat wasn’t enough, Kazakhstan is starting to sound more and more like a great vacation spot.

Now the Astana City Council wants to know – where the hell did all this weed come from? An accident? A joke? A guerrilla effort from marijuana advocates? Ohh, we sure hope we find out soon. In the meantime, any cheap flights to Kazakhstan? We heard the horticultural scene is great there.

A “Price of Weed Directory” exists. It exists online…because, where else would it? You can find it yourself – probably even on your work computer – at www.priceofweed.com. We have to thank the Huffington Post for pointing us in this direction and bringing us a few hours of interesting research. We can now appropriately map out our travel plans for as long as this directory is accurate – which, keep in mind, might not be for very long, what with new industry popping up here, there and everywhere.

But, for all intents and purposes, you should be able to visit this directory and determine the average cost of marijuana by state. For instance, check out Texas. You see the social rating via “social acceptance” (society is somewhat intolerant) and “law enforcement” (fairly heavily enforced in this great state). Below, you’ll see the average cost/ounce for high ($326.02) and medium ($232.32) quality…apparently low quality isn’t even worth listing the cost, because “we feel bad for these guys.”

Compare Texas prices to those of Oregon, where medical marijuana is already legal and will be recreationally beginning July 1. A high-quality ounce in Oregon only runs at about $204. That’s a pretty big difference. The Huffington Post analyzes some other trends in its article here.

So, how accurate is this price directory, and how do they collect their data? Crowdsourcing, like everything else on the internet these days. On a state’s page, below the average ratings and prices, you’ll see the most recent submissions, showing city, state, amount of bud, quality of bud and price of bud. The website then averages the submissions to calculate pricing. Tada!

You now have your entertainment for the day. Enjoy www.priceofweed.com! But try not to get caught at work.

Between water pipes, glass pipes and vaporizers, can you think of what gets lost in the shuffle? Bubblers. Bubblers go underappreciated way too often, which makes sense. Typically, when you’re in the market for a piece, you’re thinking about either durability in a big piece, or portability in a small one. Bubblers aren’t big, and they’re not super portable either, putting them in kind of an awkward category.

They get overlooked too often, so today, we thought we’d give bubblers a little love.

We like water pipes because they cut the smoke for a smoother hit, cutting tar and any nasty chemicals along with it, and getting you more of the good stuff more quickly. The thing is… it can feel like a huge waste to smoke that water pipe all by yourself.

We find that in this case some novices like to complain that a bubbler is a waste. Why don’t you grab a small, portable glass pipe and move right along? We beg to differ. Glass pipes are great, but bubblers aren’t a waste! They’re an opportunity to take what you like about water pipes and pull a Honey We Shrunk the Kids on ‘em!

So when is the best time to use a bubbler, exactly? Use one when you want a stronger end result, if you know what I’m sayin’, and a smooth hit – the kind you’d get from a big ole water pipe. Plus, use it when you don’t need incredible portability (you’re not taking it on a road trip) but you do want to be able to take it with you to the kitchen while you grab your munchies. Use it when you’re toking alone and don’t feel like using a huge ass piece. USE IT EVERY DAY!

Marijuana is such a popular subject in politics and culture these days, it’s almost impossible to keep up with which states have updated the drug’s legal status and how. Every state’s laws are different, and where the drug is still illegal, penalties vary as do current advocacy efforts. How will you ever keep up? Enter High Times.

Every so often, High Times posts a legislative roundup to catch us all up on what we’ve missed. Yesterday, on such a fitting holiday as Memorial Day, they reminded us. Here are the states that have seen some movement (or the opposite):

Pennsylvania. Similarly to Texas’ problems, House Health Committee chair Representative Matt Baker pretty much refuses to let proposal for marijuana reform go before the House of Representatives. Democracy at its finest.

Missouri. More bills blocked before voting – these two would have legalized industrial hemp and expanded the state’s CBD program.

Colorado. What more could they do, you ask? Now they allow children to bring their medical marijuana to school. To sell, for more drug money. Just kidding….about the sales part, anyway.

Oregon. Did you know Oregon doesn’t impose a sales tax? They are, however, working on a program to tax recreational marijuana.

Illinois. Illinois is SO close to decriminalization! The Senate voted in its favor, as has the House, and now it just needs some tweaking before it hits the Governor’s desk.

Ohio. Third time is apparently not the charm when it comes to Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Arizona. The state needs over 150,000 signatures before July 7, 2016 in order to get a spot on the ballot for an initiative that would regulate marijuana like alcohol.

Tennessee. They tried to decriminalize marijuana in Nashville. It didn’t happen.

You can see from this list alone that marijuana laws are hardly predictable. So check High Times regularly for legislative updates, and we’ll try to keep you posted as we can too. Visit the post referenced here for even more details about these proposals.

May 21, 2015 marks an important moment for both the United States Senate and the veterans of our country’s armed forces. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan amendment allowing Veteran’s Administration (VA) doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients in states where it’s legal. What a concept, right? And the VA is finally doing something right.

Before this amendment passed, law dictated that the VA explicitly could NOT recommend medical marijuana no matter what the state status. In fact, the VA was the ONLY federal healthcare denying physicians this right. The tragedy here is that veterans are a group to whom medical marijuana truly matters. The drug has been found to alleviate symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which continues to plague many of our soldiers as they return from deployment overseas. A 2014 study shows that marijuana reduced PTSD symptoms more than 75% in veterans who we’re using it as part of their treatments.

It’s time this country started treating its veterans with the care they deserve. And not only is this vote important for them, but it’s important for the federal government. This marks the first time the U.S. Senate has voted on marijuana law reform. We’ll cheers to that!

We’ve already had some bad news this week, so how about some good news? Although the Texas House of Representatives let us down in a big way by refusing to submit two excellent bill proposals, one decriminalizing marijuana and the other completely legalizing it, maybe the federal government can console us. Don’t worry, we’re not holding our breath for it.

At the end of April, the “Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2015” went before Congress. It says pretty much what you’d think, given the obvious title. If it passes, individuals and businesses who are minding their state marijuana laws will not be at any risk of federal charges. It still feels extremely silly to need such a bill, but as simple as it is, it is extremely important.

The Obama administration hasn’t been super supportive of legalization, but at least it stays out of the way. Who knows what we can expect in 2016? Really, who knows if the Obama administration will even stick to its current hands-off approach?

This is the most comprehensive bill we’ve seen so far in terms of eliminating the issues between state and federal marijuana laws. Damn, it’s too bad we can’t go back and get the federal government for prohibiting marijuana on the basis of racism back in the day. Then who would the winners be? Anyway, keep your ears to the ground! Hopefully we’ll have more news soon.

Texas, oh Texas. You lift us up, teasing us with NORML and Marijuana Policy Project collaborations and waving legalization/decriminalization bill proposals in the air excitedly. Then just as we think we smell the sweet winds of change, which smell an awful lot like ganja, you tear us back down.

We’re a little down in the dumps today. Two very well-researched, well-written, all-around fantastic bill proposals were shot down this week. The first was House Bill 507, which would have greatly reduced penalties for minor marijuana offenses. The second was House Bill 2165, which would have legalized and regulated marijuana.

Now, when we say they were shot down, we really mean they were never given the chances they deserved. Both of these bills were slated to go before the House of Representatives this session, but apparently Todd Hunter, House Calendar Committee authority, flat out refused to submit them. Seriously?! Screw you too, Todd.

What’s next? Sadness for now. But chin up, Texans! We’ve never been ones to back down from a fight. And we can still make legalization happen in Texas in a BIG way. DFW NORML has a growing following and can always use more advocates! Check them out at http://www.dfwnorml.org/ and consider becoming a member. It’s only a $15 fee, and it’s an important cause. Benefits of membership include discounted entry to events like the Texas Regional NORML Conference, discounts at various businesses in North Texas, and stickers, postcards and other sponsor-related info.

First, we’re guessing a lot of you don’t watch MTV anymore, because let’s be honest, what the hell even happened to MTV? Here’s what the hell happens on MTV now – True Life! And last night’s True Life episode = “True Life: My Parents Love Their Weed.”

You can listen to the daughter and her father argue about whether smoking weed is biblical. They make a bet that if he goes to church, she’ll go to the Canna-lympics. Just check this ish out. And then never watch MTV again. Or watch it like the rest of us do, as a guilty pleasure, hiding in our rooms, eating bon-bons.

We’d also like to draw your attention to someone you may not have heard from in awhile but you certainly haven’t forgotten – Afroman! “Because I Got High” is every stoner’s favorite song, right? Uh huh. Well someone decided it’d be cute to make the positive version – since the song really doesn’t do us a lot of favors. Thanks, Weedmaps, for reminding everyone that pot smokers can still care about things. And they can still GET SHIT DONE. Sarah Silverman is living proof.

Just one suggestion…never read the comments. Your laughter could turn to weeping.

You can infuse many things with cannabis for an exciting combination (where it’s legal, obviously). Edibles, lotions, tinctures and even coffee. Why we haven’t previously heard more about marijuana cocktails is beyond us, but now is the time!

We probably haven’t heard more about marijuana cocktails for obvious reasons, actually. The last thing you need when you’re out at the bar is to get both drunk AND high, then try to function in public, and/or even worse, drive home. But for those tokers drinking and smoking at home, or those tokers who know how to handle themselves in public and have a ride home, a marijuana cocktail could really hit the spot.

So, where to begin? If you were living in a state where marijuana was legal, you would first want to infuse your liquor with cannabis, just like you would infuse oil or butter with it to make brownies. The catch is that while it doesn’t take that long, it’s a LOT more work to infuse the liquor. It’s not impossible, but it’s more involved. Gizmodo has instructions here.

Once you’ve infused the liquor, you’re really ready to get creative. Liquor.com references some cool recipes, or you could make up your own. Just reading about them makes our mouths water. Legalization, come to us.

It’s basically summertime, which means it’s time again to think about portable smoking options. This one goes out to all the people who have wasted too many Zig Zags trying to roll their own special cigarettes…you know who you are.

First, let’s talk about papers. All you need is NOT a Colt 45 and two Zig Zags – the only thing Afroman was wrong about. Just kidding, he was wrong about other things too. But we recommend you check out RAW rolling papers.

RAW Natural Rolling Papers contain a hybrid blend of unbleached fibers and are marked with RAW’s patented CrissCross watermark to prevent runs and maintain the smoothness of the burn. Reviewers constantly comment on the taste of RAW papers – or lack thereof – in that it is much less inhibiting than other, non-organic papers.

Once you have your papers…then what? A quick Google search will bring up plenty of YouTube videos to help, but rather than sorting through what is and is not helpful, we suggest you check out a lovely little website called The Daily Smoker. They’re cigarette rolling experts and can help you figure out the best style and method of rolling based on when, what and how much you’re smoking. You can find all of their instructional videos here.

And you can purchase your RAW rolling papers at the Glass House! Stop by either of our three locations and let us walk you through your product options.

You know what kind of looks like a sparkling Christmas tree? Bud. Usually the dankest bud is the most beautiful, so it’s no surprise that anti-marijuana advocates are still afraid of it – they’ve never used it, of course, but we bet they haven’t really LOOKED at it either. And seeing and looking are too very different things.

California-based photographer Erik Christiansen and “cannabis aficionado”/grower Dan Michaels recently collaborated to produce a cannabis-themed field guide entitled “Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana.” The coffee table book you’ve been waiting for, Christiansen and Michaels cover over 170 strains in mind-blowing photographic detail. It isn’t just a compilation of images, though – they outline their observations of each strain’s medicinal and recreational benefits.

The beauty of the bud is undeniable. Better look away if you can’t handle it…you might just change your mind! Get a glimpse of some photos and read an interview with Christiansen at NPR Health, and purchase the book on Amazon.com.

With a Facebook tagline like, “If you’re a concern troll or a care troll, unlike this page now,” Dangerous Minds is just as exciting as it sounds. They’re one of our favorite online publications, posting regular updates about “new ideas, new art forms, new approaches to social issues and new finds from the outer reaches of pop culture.”

As you can imagine, Dangerous Minds provides entertaining commentary every day of the week. Follow them. Better yet, visit www.dangerousminds.net and search “weed.” An array of wonderful results, including headlines like the following:

Giant Squid Blunt: We Didn’t Learn About This Creature In Science Class

A Menorah Bong, Because Why Not?

Hugs for Nugs: Dress Your Baby As A Pot Leaf For Halloween

Pot Protection: Cannabis-Flavored Condoms

Man Calls 911 80 Times for Weed and Kool-Aid

Is that enough to tempt you? The article that’s got us going today is this one right here. Would you like to smoke a pipe that looks like Breaking Bad’s Walter White? Tom Waits more your thing? Hunter S. Thompson? Step right up. There’s an Etsy shop out of Europe making “head” pipes – literally, ceramic pipes that look like the heads of some of our favorite crazy people. We want some of these at The Glass House! And we do have some pretty cool and comparable stuff.

You don’t need any more reasons to check out Dangerous Minds. Go there now! Also, come by the Glass House and check out the crazy cool pipes we have in store for you – although it may not include Tom Waits’ head.